Colorado May Have Its First Large-Capacity-Magazine Criminal Charge

When Colorado’s Larimer County district attorney filed a charge for possessing high-capacity magazines against 29-year-old David Moscow on October 26, 2015, it may have been the first such use of the law since its adoption more than two years ago.

A search by U.S. Law Shield did not turn up another case in which the controversial law banning magazines with more than a 15-round capacity has been administered previously. A Larimer County government website lists Cliff Riedel as the jurisdiction’s DA.

Prosecutors have charged Moscow for possessing the high-capacity magazines under Colorado Revised Statute 18-12-302, which reads in part, “a person who sells, transfers or possesses a large-capacity magazine that is designed to accept or can be converted to hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition commits a Class 2 misdemeanor, the exception being if the individual owned the magazine prior to July 1, 2013.”

Facts of the case: Moscow had been seeking readmission to the Front Range Community College in Fort Collins and was upset that he was probably going to be denied. He became disgruntled and a psychologist reported him to police, saying he was making threats about shooting a security guard and burning down a building at the community college if administrators didn’t re-enroll him. He was subsequently arrested.

While he was on a 72-hour hold for mental evaluation, investigators searched his home and vehicle and found an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, a Glock .40-caliber handgun, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. In addition, they found multiple large-capacity magazines for both firearms.

Moscow is a convicted felon, so it is illegal for him to possess firearms.